Do you see what I see?

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”, according to the old Andy Williams holiday classic. It’s the season of giving, and of course, this is the time when we’re all thinking about giving to those we love, and causes we care about.

After more than 80 years, Boys and Girls Clubs have learned that the key to offering really impactful help and support is being thoughtful about protecting and respecting people’s dignity. Why? Well, if you think about it, most of us find it hard to ask for help. Yet, more often than not, families are required to prove they need help (by showing their t4 slips or pay stub or some equally humiliating exercise) if they need help with fees for their kids to be in quality programs, or for extraordinary help for their family over the holidays. Maybe that’s why working for BGC is such a privilege, and why the lens of the gift of dignity now guides my own personal giving.

At BGC, our families want to pay for programs, but appreciate being able to pay what they can in such a respectful way. This week alone, I heard that directly from families, who are just so grateful for BGC.

So, what does all this mean? A gift of $2000 will fund one of our youth for a year of academic help to succeed at school (and graduate), $1,200 pays for another amazing kid to belong to their Club for a year, $525 sends a kid to go to Camp Potlatch… and you can click here for more options. The bottom line is that a gift to BGC is a gift to hard working families and amazing children and youth, who happen to need some help.

As a friend of Boys and Girls Clubs, we hope you see what we see: not vulnerability, but possibility, and the incredible future that’s possible for all of us when our kids grow up well. A gift to BGC will do just that.